Nemesis Book 2: The Devil Gundams
by Count Morningstar
Summary: As the third war rages on, Shinn is given an experimental new mobile suit to use. But the control system has some very nasty side effects. To make matters worse, the lurking chaos behind the war hands out similar machines to three Earth Alliance pilots and sends them against the Minerva. Rated M for certain scenes. ON HIATUS.
1. The New Pilots

**Introduction:** I'd like to apologize to those who've read _Nemesis Book 1: The Lurking Chaos_. I'm sorry it's taken me so long to get this story off the ground. One of the big reasons for this is because I simply didn't feel like working on it. As another writer friend of mine told me only a few days ago, it's impossible to work on a story when the spark for it isn't there. But the spark for this story has returned at least a little. So I'm starting it back up.

Now then, this is pretty much where I screwed up when I did the original version of this story. The focus shifted away from Kira and Lacus and I got some negative response from that. But the way this story was playing out, there wasn't really any way around that. So I just decided to delete the original version and start fresh. Now we pick up where we left off in Book 1, more or less.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Gundam SEED.

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><p>Chapter 1: The New Pilots<p>

Shinn Asuka awoke to the blaring sound of his alarm clock. It was 6:30 AM, the start of yet another early day. Not that he had anywhere to be though. For the past week the ship her served aboard, the Minerva, had been staying in port. The only thing for him to do was just sit around and wait. And in the meantime, the war would only continue to get worse and worse.

That's the way it had been going ever since the abduction and so-called murder of the former chairwoman of the PLANTs, Lacus Clyne three months ago. After it happened, the new leader of the PLANTs, Ian Vargas, had used the incident to fan the flames of war. Now the war effort was in the name of avenging Lacus' death. And in the meantime, it seemed to Shinn like he had become powerless. For the past week he had wanted to get back out there and do whatever he could to bring the war to an end.

Shinn's thoughts were interrupted by the suddenly sound of the doorbell to his quarters. After putting on his pants, Shinn got up to go answer. Standing on the other side of the door was a man in his forties with slicked back grey hair and pale skin. His eyes were a kind of olive-green that was almost similar to the color of a sewage river. Shinn instantly recognized the man as Ian Vargas.

"Uh, Chairman Vargas!" a startled Shinn spoke as he quickly saluted. "I, uh…"

"At ease, young man." Vargas told him with a gentle smile. "I apologize for just dropping in on you like this, but I thought I'd save you the trouble of having to come to your captain's office in order to meet with me."

"It's no problem sir." Shinn assured him. "Um, please come in."

"So, you're famous Shinn Asuka, the ace pilot of the Minerva." Vargas spoke as he walked into the room. "I've heard great things about you, my boy."

"Thank you, sir." Shinn replied. "But if you don't mind me asking, why have you come here?"

"I simply wanted to meet you in person." Vargas explained. "After all, you're going to be the one piloting our new prototype mobile suit."

"About that, sir. Why exactly have I been the one selected to pilot this new machine?" Shinn asked. "My old mobile suit, the Destiny, works just fine."

"Yes, well I'm afraid it can't really be helped." Vargas replied. "As I'm sure you're well aware, the war has been going very badly for us. We need every edge we can get if we're going to bring this to an end. And you simply are one of the best pilots we have."

"I see." Shinn responded.

"You needn't worry though. The design of this new machine was based heavily on the Destiny's own blueprints." Vargas continued. "The only major difference besides a few technological improvements is the control system. Consider this as more of an upgrade to the machine you piloted before."

"I understand sir." Shinn responded.

"Well then, I'll leave you to get ready and start your day." Vargas told him. "I'm sure you'll do us proud, young man. With your help, we can finally avenge Lacus Clyne's death and finally end this war."

With that, Vargas left Shinn's quarters. Shinn sighed and went over to the nightstand by his bed. Sitting on it was the pink cell phone that belonged to his late sister, the only thing in this world he had left of her. Shinn didn't really care about avenging Lacus' death. He knew her personally of course, but he wasn't really sure if she was actually dead. Nobody was in fact. But Shinn did want to bring the war to an end, and he was willing to do just about anything to do it.

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><p>Seventeen-year-old Pamela Cloud sat looking out the window of a military helicopter that was flying out over the ocean. She wasn't really looking at the view outside. All there was to see was endless sea and the morning sun. What Pamela was really looking at was her own reflection. She found that she looked more or less like she normally did, fair skin, pale green eyes, curly white hair that went down just past her shoulders. But what Pamela was trying to get used to, was the uniform she was wearing. Only a day before she was only a mere cadet in the Alliance military, but then after taking some odd tests Pamela had been made a full fledged mobile suit pilot with the rank of ensign.<p>

After that, Pamela was put on some sort of special team that was to be assigned to a ship in space. It was all happening so fast for her. Pamela turned her attention away from the window and looked to the seat next to her. In that seat was a young man who looked to be about her age with very short black hair and brown eyes wearing a white Alliance uniform. He wore a serious, almost stone-faced expression. Pamela didn't know too much about this individual. Only that his name was Jeffery Wong and that he was an ensign like her. Pamela assumed that he was a part of this team she was put on.

Sitting in the seat across from Jeffery was a man who looked to be in his early forties with tan skin, dark-brown hair and a mustache, and an eye patch over his left eye. He was wearing the uniform of an Alliance captain. The man had earlier introduced himself to Pamela as Captain Milo Desoto, the commander of the ship she and her team had been assigned to. Captain Desoto glanced up from a file folder he was examining and noticed Pamela looking at him.

"Something on your mind Ensign Cloud?" Captain Desoto asked, startling Pamela a bit.

"Oh, it's nothing sir." Pamela answered. "I was just wondering where we're headed."

"I suppose both you and Ensign Wong have a right to know this." Captain Desoto replied as he put the folder he was reading back into a metal briefcase that was on his lap. "We're heading to the location where we'll be picking up the final member of your team, Beggar's Island Penitentiary."

"A prison?" a very startled Pamela exclaimed.

"Sir, are you saying that the final member of our team is a convict?" Jeffery asked, still maintaining a calm expression.

Captian Desoto sighed. "I'm afraid so. Frankly I don't like it a bit. Giving a common criminal the keys to a mobile suit is bad idea in my opinion. But unfortunately orders are orders. We're all just going to have to deal with it."

"Um, what did this person do?" Pamela asked hesitantly.

"Believe me Cloud, I would tell you if I knew. But his whole record seems to have been erased." Captain Desoto told her. "All I can tell you is his name, Scott Winslow. The whole thing is just damned irregular."

"I suppose we'll just have to deal with it." Jeffery responded. "It is not our place to question our superiors."

"Yes, you're right Wong." Captain Desoto agreed with a sigh. "We're just going to have to deal with how things are."

About ten minutes later, the helicopter landed atop the roof of the prison that was their destination. The side door of the helicopter opened, and walking towards it was a young man who looked to be about seventeen or eighteen with wild purple hair and gold eyes. He was wearing an Alliance uniform with the sleeves rolled up and his hands were bound behind his back. Pamela quickly deduced that this young man was the last member of her team, Scott Winslow. A prison guard armed with a rifle was escorting Scott.

When they reached the helicopter, the guard unlocked the handcuffs around Scott's wrists and the purple-haired young man boarded the vehicle, taking the seat across from Pamela. The helicopter soon took back off into the night sky.

"So, I guess you're the guy in charge here." Scott said to Captain Desoto with a cocky expression. "Am I right pops?"

"You will address me as Captain Desoto or Sir, understood Winslow?" a very offended Desoto scolded.

"Yeah, I hear ya." Scott indifferently replied as he stretched out his legs and put his hands behind his head. He then started to look at Pamela, which made her very uncomfortable. Pamela turned her head to look out the window to avoid Scott's gaze, causing Scott to notice and grin. "Never would've figured a pretty girl like you to be a soldier. What's your name girly?"

"…Pamela Cloud." She answered hesitantly, not once turning to look at him.

"Nice to meet ya Cloudy." Scott replied. "…Bet you're wondering what I did to land myself in the joint, aren't ya?"

"I couldn't care less." Pamela told him, though inwardly she was curious.

"I blew up my school." Scott bragged as if such an act was something to be proud of. "It was beautiful watching the thing go up in flames."

"…Was anyone hurt?" Pamela asked, actually glancing at Scott just a bit.

"Oh yeah, my asshole of a principle bought it." Scott answered with a twisted laugh. "So did this one old janitor who worked there. I actually feel kinda bad about that, but oh well."

"How can you be so proud of your actions?" Jeffery asked.

"And I suppose now you're gonna preach to me now and say what I did was wrong, eh buddy?" Scott replied.

"There is nothing honorable about causing meaningless destruction." Jeffery told him. "How you became a part of this team is beyond me."

"All I know is that one day, some stuffed shirt military guys came to the joint I was locked up in and started looking for volunteers for some weird tests." Scott explained. "They said if we passed 'em, they'd give us a ticket out of there. Of course the catch was that we'd be put in the military, but I didn't give a damn about that. Hell, a job where ya blow stuff up seemed right up my ally. So I took their little tests and boom, here I am."

"Lucky you." Pamela said quietly in a sarcastic tone.

"So what about you Cloudy? How'd you get in this outfit?" Scott asked Pamela.

"I guess if you have to know, I'm a survivor of the Clyne Colony." Pamela admitted.

"Oh yeah, I heard about that." Scott replied. "They let us watch the news in the joint. So I guess you really hate those Coordinators for blowing up your home and killing your folks, huh?"

"My dearest friend was a Coordinator!" an offended Pamela told him, almost shouting. "It's ZAFT that I hate. It's because of them my friend and my family died that day! They're the ones who started this war. And I'm not going to rest until I put an end to them."

Scott shrugged. "Whatever helps ya sleep at night, I guess."

About half an hour later, the helicopter landed at a military base a small island. Captain Desoto led Pamela and her two teammates out of the vehicle, where they were met by a man with greasy black hair and pale skin, wearing a white lab coat with a pink shirt, light-blue tie, black pants, and brown leather shoes.

"Captain Desoto, I presume." The man greeted. "I am Dr. Leech. I've been expecting you and your team."

"So you're the one who built these new mobile suits." Captain Desoto deduced as he shook Leech's hand. "Care to show them to me?"

"By all means." Leech replied with a wide grin. "If you'll all follow me, I'll take you right to them." The strange doctor led Pamela and the others into the base, where they went down a long metal hallway. "So captain, you must be honored to be commanding an elite team."

"Frankly, I'm rather skeptical about this assignment." Captain Desoto admitted. "Though it is turning out to be a little better than I expected. I was afraid I was being assigned a new team of those Extended pilots."

Leech chuckled. "Ah yes, the Extended program. It really was such a flawed concept. Our scientists were trying to enhance the power of the soldier when they should've been focused on enhancing the machine. That is what I have done."

"Just how advanced are these machines of yours?" Captain Desoto asked.

"They're based heavily on the old G-Weapons, or 'Gundams', that were introduced during the first war. But they were made using new state-of-the-art technology." Leech explained. "The most innovative of these features is the neural interface control system. With that technology, the mobile suit becomes an extension of the pilot's body."

"Sounds ambitious." Captain Desoto commented. "But are these mobile suits truly as powerful as you say they are?"

"See for yourself captain." Leech replied as they reached a pair of large metal doors.

The scientist pressed some buttons on a keypad next to the door, and in moments they slid open. The group entered a large hanger, and looming before them was a large humanoid robot that was mainly grey in color. The head had two eyes and looked to be wearing a faceplate and helmet. A single machine gun was mounted on the torso next to the left shoulder. On its right forearm was a large plate with three claw-like blades protruding from the end, while the left forearm had what looked like a shield with a single gun barrel on it. Mounted to the back were two large axes. Pamela was filled with a sense of dread as she looked at the machine.

"Captain Desoto, I give you the Vengeance." Leech proudly announced as he pointed at the machine with his right arm. "This model was made with close range combat in mind. But what it lacks in projectile weaponry, the Vengeance makes up for in stealth technology."

"Mirage Colloid?" Captain Desoto asked.

"Along with a few other surprises." Leech confirmed.

"So which of us is gonna be piloting this thing, doc?" Scott asked.

"Ms. Cloud has been selected as the pilot for the Vengeance." Leech answered.

"Me?" a surprised Pamela asked.

"You were shown to be the most compatible with the interface in this unit, Ms. Cloud." Leech explained. "I'm certain you'll be able to bring out this machine's full potential."

"So what do I get?" Scott asked, a hint of eagerness in his voice.

"Follow me, and I'll show you." Leech replied as he led the group past the Vengeance to another mobile suit that was standing behind it.

This machine had a head similar to that of the Vengeance and was also grey in color. It had two machine gun turrets mounted on the torso next to the shoulders, and a chest that looked it had panels that concealed missile launchers. The shoulders of the until were large and box-like, and mounted on the forearms were two long Gatling guns, each with a string of ammunition running to a pack on the back.

"This unit is considered to be the opposite of the Vengeance." Leech explained. "It is armed to the teeth with the most devastating projectile weaponry the Alliance has produced. I give you, the Genocide."

"And I'm the one who'll be piloting this thing?" an excited Scott asked.

"Oh yes, Mr. Winslow." Leech confirmed. "You proved to be a perfect fit for this machine when we tested you."

"What about me, sir?" Jeffery asked.

"Ah, Mr. Wong. Don't think I forgot about you." Leech chuckled. "Follow me, and I'll be showing you the mobile suit you'll be piloting."

The scientist led the group behind the Genocide to another machine with a head that looked similar to the other two units and was also grey in color. Mounted next to its shoulders was a pair of long narrow laser cannons, and at its waist were to long barrel guns.

"And now we come to the last of our three prototypes, the Discord." Leech introduced. "This unit was designed for long range attacks, but can fight at close range as well. So captain, what do you think of my creations?"

"They certainly look impressive." Captain Desoto admitted. "But I'll save my final judgment for after I see them perform in the field."

"Of course, of course." Leech replied. "I'll leave all of you to look them over while you wait for your ship to arrive. In the meantime, I have business to attend to. If you'll excuse me, captain."

"Of course, Dr." Captain Desoto replied. "I'm sure you must be a busy man."

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><p>Leech went into his darkened office. Two individuals were waiting for him inside. One was a man with pale blonde hair that went just past his shoulders, and a distinctive white mask covered the top half of his face. He had on a white ZAFT commander's uniform and a pair of white gloves. The other individual was a six-foot tall inhuman-looking creature with an octopus-like head with a pair of large yellow eyes and tentacles surrounding its mouth. Its skin was green like slime, and it had four tentacles for arms. Leech knew the human as Rau Le Creuset, while the thing was Cha-Cathock, High Emperor of the Yulock.<p>

"Ye eh chloth, my masters." Leech greeted as he crossed his arms over his chest like a mummy.

"Chloth yel yikak, Dr. Leech." Cha-Cathock greeted back in a slimy voice. "What news do you have to report?"

"I just handed the prototype mobile suits to their pilots." Leech replied. "They should be out in the field very soon."

"Good, good." A very pleased Cha-Cathock spoke as he touched the tips of his tentacle arms together. "I am eager to see how these battle mechs perform."

"Are you certain that you've chosen the right pilots?" Le Creuset asked.

"Of course, my master." Leech assured him as he went over to his desk and typed something into his computer. In moments, pictures of Pamela, Scott, and Jeffery appeared on a flatscreen on the wall. "These three were chosen from extensive testing. All three show indications of having the Superior Evolutionary Element Destined factor, or SEED, as it is sometimes called. Once the factor is awakened, the full power of my creations will be unleashed."

"Which of these three do you think has the most potential?" Cha-Cathock asked.

"Given the psychological profiles of the three, I believe the pilot of the Genocide to be the most promising." Leech guessed.

"Hmm… show me more on the pilot of the Vengeance." Le Creuset requested. In moments, Pamela's info took up the whole screen.

"She certainly is a… pretty specimen." Cha-Cathock noted with lust in his alien voice.

"I remind you High Emperor that she's a valuable test subject." Le Creuset reminded him.

"Oh… yes of course." Cha-Cathock agreed as he quickly contained himself.

"I think our Ms. Cloud has the best potential in this group." Le Creuset decided after he finished reading what was on the screen.

"With all due respect, my master, Mr. Winslow has a criminal background." Leech reminded him.

"Ah, but Ms. Cloud is a survivor of the Clyne Colony." Le Creuset noted. "I'm sure she has a deep anger within her, anger at those who she thinks was responsible for the deaths of her loved ones. And with these mobile suits stimulating the aggressive tendencies of their pilots, I'm sure Ms. Cloud's full rage will be brought to the surface."

"Yes, and when that happens, the full power of the Vengeance will be unleashed." Cha-Cathock agreed.

"All we need to do is wait for the right push." Le Creuset added. "I'm sure it's only a matter of time. We'll have to pay close attention."

"We'll I'm sure this push you speak of will happen soon." Leech assured them. "You have after all had ZAFT deploy the brother unit to the ones I created, I assume."

"Yes, the Lucifer." Le Creuset confirmed as he turned to face Leech. "Right now, it's aboard the Minerva, waiting to be sent into battle."

"Good, good." Cha-Cathock priased. "I understand that you chose the Lucifer's pilot yourself, Le Creuset."

"In a way, High Emperor." The masked man confirmed. "Actually he was chosen before by an old friend. Ah, dear Gilbert. He always was good at reading people and seeing their strengths. He chose well when he made that young man the pilot of the Destiny. I'm sure we'll see great things from Shinn Asuka, great things indeed."

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><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong> I had to redo the entire opening of this chapter. Originally the first part was the exposition from the final chapter of the last book. I also ended up changing the time when some of the events in this chapter took place.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	2. Survivor

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Gundam SEED.

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><p>Chapter 2: Survivor<p>

The morning sun hung high in the sky as Kira Yamato and Lacus Clyne headed for the mansion of Kira's sister, Cagalli Yula Athha, the leader of Orb. With the couple were their friend Athrun Zala, and their two alien bodyguards, Gar and Tara Thorson. The drive to the mansion had been fairly short, though they had to keep off the main roads to avoid being seen by any possible assassins. The group had taken a green van that Tara had been using to get around during her and Gar's mission. After almost an hour and a half they had finally arrived at their destination. Though after stopping at the intercom by the front gate, they were at a loss as to how to get in.

"Why don't we just tell Cagalli that it's me and Lacus?" Kira suggested. "She'd let us in."

"I'm afraid that's too risky sir." Gar told him. "We can't take any chances of the enemy finding out your location."

"I'm sure they'll let us in for Athrun." Lacus assumed.

"Don't count on it." Athrun told her.

"What, you mean you and Cagalli still aren't back together?" a surprised Kira asked.

"It's… complicated." Athrun replied.

"You guys just leave it to me. I've got it covered." Tara assured them from the driver's seat. "Gar, do me a favor and get me that file folder full of takeout menus from the glove compartment."

"What do you need that for?" Athrun asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It's called a prop." Tara explained as Gar handed her the aforementioned folder.

Tara then pressed a button on the buckle of her belt and her body glowed with a golden light. The light cleared and instead of her original white jacket and black pants, Tara was wearing a short-sleeved pine green jacket, white blouse, and a pine green skirt that ended just above her knees. From inside her jacket, Tara pulled out a pair of large red-framed glasses and placed them on her face.

"What's with the costume change?" Kira asked.

"I've been pretending to be your sister's secretary, remember?" Tara reminded him.

"Oh, sort of like how Gar posed as my aid." Kira recalled.

"Precisely." Gar confirmed. "Though Tara is far better at undercover work than I am."

"That's because you have all the acting ability of a two-by-four, big brother." A slightly annoyed Tara told him. "Now will you guys shut up? I'm trying to get into character."

"Sorry." The rest of the group responded. After a moment, Tara pressed the button of the intercom.

"Yes?" a woman's voice asked on the other end.

"Uh, this is Tara Thorson, Lady Cagalli's secretary." Tara answered in a shy manner. "Can I speak to her please? Um, if she's not busy, that is."

"One moment." The woman's voice replied.

"What?" the distinct voice of Cagalli finally responded.

"Oh, uh, it's Tara, Lady Cagalli." Tara replied, sounding a bit frightened. "I have some important papers that you forgot to sign yesterday. If, uh, if it's not too much trouble…"

"You're bothering me on a Sunday morning just to sign some papers that nobody will care about fifty years from now?" Cagalli yelled over the speaker.

"It'll only take a moment." Tara assured her. "Please ma'am, these are very important."

"…Oh fine." Cagalli relented after a moment. "I'll let you in, but this had better be quick! And don't call me ma'am!" With that, the intercom went dead.

"End scene." Tara spoke with a triumphant smile, dropping her meek facade as the gates to the mansion opened.

"That was actually frightening." Kira commented as Tara began to drive the van in.

"Well, she's been pretty tense since the war started to heat up." Tara explained. "Either side could suddenly decide to target Orb to get its resources to try and win. Wouldn't be the first time that happened you know. Anyway, she's pretty much been taking it out on every member of her staff. You wouldn't believe how many times she's threatened to transfer someone to Orb's embassy in Siberia."

"I bet part of that's because I disappeared." Kira sadly assumed.

"That wasn't your fault, Kira." Lacus assured him as she put her hand on his. "Neither of us could help what happened."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Kira agreed.

At last, the van pulled up to the front door of the mansion. After they all got out and went up the steps, the door opened and standing on the other side was a young woman with short blonde hair and gold eyes, wearing a red t-shirt and blue jeans. Kira and the others knew this young woman to be Cagalli.

"These papers had better be pretty damned…" Cagalli began to threaten, but stopped when she noticed Kira. "Kira!" she cried as she almost tackled him to the ground with a hug. Only moments after this tearful reunion however, Cagalli punched Kira in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him.

"What was that for?" Kira managed to breath out after falling to his knees.

"That was for letting me think you were dead!" Cagalli told him. "That's three times you've done that now! Where the hell have you been all this time?"

"Well this has been a touching reunion." Tara said sarcastically, getting Cagalli's attention. In moments, Tara flashed with a gold light, and suddenly she was wearing her original outfit.

"What the…?" uttered a stunned Cagalli.

"Cagalli, if you'll let us inside, we'll explain everything." Lacus calmly told her after helping Kira back to his feet.

A few minutes later, everyone had gone into Cagalli's study inside the mansion. There, with help from Gar and Tara, Kira and Lacus had told her the whole story of what was going on.

"Okay, let me get this straight," Cagalli began as she tried to process all that her brother and friends had told her, "aliens have set Earth and the PLANTs against each other so that the human race will kill itself off and they can take the planet."

"That is correct, Lady Cagalli." Gar confirmed.

"And you, Gar, was it? You and my secretary are another pair of aliens who're trying to stop the war." Cagalli continued. "And protect Kira and Lacus."

"Yep. It's been a real gem working for ya, by the way." Tara sarcastically remarked. Cagalli brushed Tara's comment off to stay on track.

"Okay, and three months ago, the psycho Kira fought at the end of the first war came back from the dead and tried to kill him and Lacus." Cagalli carried on.

"That's right." Kira confirmed. "Le Creuset is also the one who destroyed the Clyne Colony and set all this into motion."

"And then another group of aliens took the two of you to another dimension, where you got Lacus pregnant." Cagalli finished, shuddering a bit at the passing mental image of Kira and Lacus getting it on.

"Yes, and then for some reason they brought Kira and I to Orb three months after they took us." Lacus explained. "Though for us it seemed like no more than a day."

"This is just too weird." Cagalli declared as she slumped into the chair behind her desk and rubbed her temples.

"You do believe us though, right?" Kira asked.

"Of course I do!" Cagalli told him. "How could I not believe it, after seeing Tara's little magic trick before?"

"Humans are so easily blown away." Tara commented with a small chuckle.

"So what're you guys planning to do now?" Cagalli asked.

"We don't know." Lacus replied. "But until we can figure it out, we were hoping we could stay here."

"Well of course." Cagalli said as she stood back up. "I'll have the maids set up a room for you two. I'm guessing that you and Kira will want the same bed, since… you know."

"We'd appreciate it." Kira replied.

"Tara and I will require accommodations here as well in order to protect your brother and Chairwoman Clyne." Gar requested.

"Yeah, sure." Cagalli agreed as she walked out from behind her desk.

"Mr. Zala will require a room here as well." Gar told her, making Cagalli freeze. "He has become a target since last night."

Cagalli looked at Athrun, who had not said a single word since they entered the house. Athrun looked back at her, only to turn his head away a moment later.

"…Yeah, okay." Cagalli finally agreed. "If you'll excuse me, I have a staff meeting I need to get ready for. I'll see you guys later." With that, Cagalli exited the room.

"What is it with you and Cagalli?" Kira asked Athrun.

"It's complicated." Athrun replied.

"This still isn't about her almost marrying that moron who almost ran Orb into the ground, is it?" Tara inquired.

"Not really, but that is when things started to fall apart between us. I was such an idiot back then." Athrun chuckled darkly. "I'm going to go for a walk." With that he left the room.

* * *

><p>Lunamaria Hawke, or Luna as her friends called her, went to the hanger of the Minerva to find Shinn. On her way to find Shinn, Luna ran into two mechanics, one a young man with dark skin and black hair, who she knew as Yolan Kent, and the other a young man with brown hair with a distinctive red crest, who was Luna's friend Vino Dupre.<p>

"Hey guys." Luna greeted as she walked up to them.

"Oh, hey Luna." Yolan greeted back.

"Either of you two seen Shinn?" Luna asked the duo.

"He's probably towards the back checking out that new machine of his, the Lucifer." Vino assumed. "I still can't believe we're not allowed to work on that thing."

Yolan shrugged. "What can we do? That mobile suit is highly experimental. It's no surprise that they want their own team of mechanics working on it. Besides, we're going to be having our hands full maintaining the Impulse and this new unit we're getting."

"What new unit?" Vino asked.

"Didn't you hear? We're getting a new pilot today." Yolan explained. "Which means we're going to have a new mobile suit to work on."

"Oh yeah, I forgot that we're getting a new pilot today." Luna recalled. "That's one of the reasons why we're here at the supply depot. Wonder when this person's getting here?"

"We're supposed to be getting this pilot's mobile suit any minute now." Yolan replied.

As if on cue, moving into the hanger by crane was a rust-brown mobile suit with a single eye. Luna and the others knew this model as a ZAKU Warrior, but there were quite a few things about the machine that set it apart from its brother units. Its armor was full of dents and scratches left over from many battles, and mounted into its shoulders were two Gatling guns. Painted on the center of the chest plate in white letters was the word, Valiant. The crane dropped the battle scarred mobile suit a few feet away from Luna and the others with a thud

"Wow, that thing's tricked out." An impressed Vino commented. "I've never seen a ZAKU modified like this before."

"Yeah, but the thing looks like its been through hell." Yolan observed. "It's probably not long for the scrapheap."

"I see you three are here to see the arrival of our new pilot's machine." A female voice interrupted.

Luna and the others turned around to see walking towards them a woman in her late twenties wearing a white ZAFT command uniform and hat. She had long black hair tied in a braided ponytail and pink eyes. Luna, Vino, and Yolan all knew this woman as their commander and one of the youngest captains in ZAFT, Captain Francine Jonas.

"Captain Jonas, ma'am." Luna quickly greeted as she and the two mechanics saluted.

"At ease, you three." Captain Jonas replied after saluting back. "I only came here to meet our new pilot in person."

"Who is this new pilot we're getting, Captain?" Luna asked.

"Her name is Jessica Freemen, and before being assigned to this ship, she was a pilot aboard the Aries." Captain Jonas explained.

"No way! The Aries?" a surprised Luna asked.

"What's the big deal?" Vino asked.

"The way I heard, half way through the war, the Aries caught way behind enemy lines." Luna explained. "Communication was cut off, and they spent about a month fighting off enemy ships trying to get back to the PLANTs."

"As I understand it, supplies were so low that the mechanics aboard the Aries had to use parts from enemy mobile suits their pilots took out in battle in order to make repairs." Captain Jonas continued. "That's why this ZAKU has been modified the way it has been."

"I also heard that less then half the crew of the Aries survived getting home." Luna recalled. "We must be getting one hotshot pilot. I can't wait to meet this person."

"You won't have to wait long, Lunamaria." Captain Jonas assured her. "Here she comes now."

Luna and the others turned and saw walking towards them a young woman who looked to be about seventeen or eighteen. She had long silky dark-blue hair with a lock of it over one of her golden eyes. Her uniform was the red uniform of an elite pilot. Only instead of a skirt that most female officers wore was a pair of tight white long pants and a pair of black leather boots.

"Pilot Jessica Freemen, reporting." The young woman greeted with a salute after walking up to them.

"Welcome aboard." Captain Jonas greeted back. "I hope your trip over here wasn't too rough."

"Not at all ma'am." Jessica replied.

"Well, I just came here to greet you in person." Captain Jonas explained. "I'll let you get settled in. We'll be heading out soon."

"Thank you ma'am. But if it's all the same to you, I'd prefer to make sure my machine is ready for combat." Jessica requested.

"Whatever you feel is best." Captain Jonas replied before walking off. Vino and Yolan meanwhile had already gone to check out the Valiant.

"Hi, I'm Lunamaria Hawke." Luna greeted. "It's an honor to meet a pilot like you."

"Whatever." Jessica indifferently responded before heading for the Valiant.

"You know, I used to pilot a ZAKU Warrior at the beginning of the second war." Luna said in an attempt to make conversation.

"What do you want, a medal?" Jessica rudely asked.

"Aw man, this thing is a mess!" Vino exclaimed as he and Yolan began examining the Valiant.

"Hey! You idiots better not screw anything up!" Jessica shouted as she stormed over. "Or else I'll blow you two out the airlock!"

Luna sighed and decided to resume her search Shinn. Deeper into the hanger, Luna found Shinn looking up at a very distinct mobile suit with several black cables plugged into it. It was grey in color and greatly resembled Shinn's previous mobile suit, the Destiny. Only there were a few differences. The horns on its head crest curved upward to form a crescent moon shape, and there was a second layer of armor on the shoulders. The armor on its torso was more curved and had an almost organic look to it. But the most noticeable difference was the faceplate. Part of it looked as though it had a large grin carved into it.

"Hey there." Luna greeted, pulling his attention away from the foreboding machine.

"Oh, hi." Shinn greeted back. "What brings you here?"

"I've been looking for you, silly." Luna replied before planting a kiss on Shinn's cheek. "I should've guessed you'd be back here looking at your new mobile suit."

"Yeah, I kinda miss the Destiny. But I guess this machine's more powerful." Shinn assumed.

"It gives me the creeps." Luna admitted. "Especially that control system I overheard the mechanics of this thing telling you about it."

"You mean the neural interface?" Shin asked. "Yeah, that does seem a little weird. But I guess I'll just have to get used to it."

"I still don't like it. C'mon, let's get out of here." Luna suggested.

"Yeah, okay." Shinn agreed, and with that they left to the hanger. Though as they left, Shinn glanced back again at the Lucifer.

A few hours later, Shinn and Luna went to the galley to have dinner. Upon arriving, they saw Jessica sitting by herself at a table in the corner.

"Oh hey, there's that new pilot I told you about." Luna informed Shinn.

"You mean that one that wasn't nice to you before?" Shinn asked.

"We probably just got off on the wrong foot." Luna assumed. "C'mon, let's go say hi." In moments, the couple walked over to Jessica's table.

"What do you two want?" Jessica asked in a tone that said she did not want to be disturbed, not once taking her eyes off the cup of coffee she was drinking.

"Shinn and I saw you sitting alone and thought you'd like some company." Luna offered.

"If I wanted company, don't you think I would've sat with somebody by now?" Jessica pointed out.

"Well, I guess so." Luna admitted. "It's just thought that since you're new to the ship that maybe…"

"You know, if I wanted someone to hang out with on this ship, I'd pick someone who took their job a little more seriously." Jessica told her, cutting her off mid sentence.

"What is that supposed to mean?" a somewhat offended Luna asked.

"I'm talking about that skirt of yours." Jessica explained, referring to the short pink mini-skirt Luna usually wore. "I mean I know the ZAFT issue skirts aren't the best when it comes to maneuverability. But you'd think you'd have picked something a little more professional-looking."

"Now you just wait a minute!" Luna shot back. "Just because I decided to wear something that was a little more freeing, doesn't mean I don't take what I do seriously!"

"Could've fooled me." Jessica scoffed before taking another sip of coffee. "I'm just saying I'd respect you a little more is you didn't go into battle dressed like some ditzy party girl."

"Where the hell do you get off speaking to Luna like that?" Shinn yelled, beating Luna to the punch. The maroon-haired girl stepped aside to let Shinn confront Jessica.

"You're that hotshot pilot I heard this ship has, right?" Jessica asked indifferently. "Look, I'm sorry but I'm just being honest."

"You don't know a damn thing about who you're talking about!" Shinn shot back. "Luna has risked her life every time we go into battle! Do you think that because you survived on the Aries you're better than everyone on this ship?"

"Not at all. I've just learned that to survive you have to take this job seriously." Jessica told him. "And from what I've seen so far, it doesn't look like your friend does that. Tell me, Ms. Hawke, why did you join ZAFT?"

"Why the hell did you join?" Shinn asked before Luna could reply.

"Okay, fair enough." Jessica admitted. "I joined ZAFT because I want justice. I'm a survivor from the Clyne Colony. I was one of the few who made it out when it was destroyed. When it happened I lost everything. So when I heard it was the Alliance that did it, I wanted payback."

"Oh I get it now. You want to get revenge on the Naturals for killing your family, is that it?" Shinn assumed. With that comment, Jessica suddenly stood up from her chair and slapped Shinn in the face.

"Don't you dare say something like that to me!" Jessica shouted. "A person I deeply cared about was a Natural, and I lost that person when the colony went up in flames! This isn't about race! It's the Alliance I hate for what happened! They're the ones who took everything I had! And if you want to call my reason for fighting revenge, then fine. But never suggest that I'm a racist!"

Jessica stormed out of the room after that outburst. Walking up to Shinn and Luna at that moment was a young woman with red hair tied into pigtails and wearing a green ZAFT uniform. This was Luna's sister, Meyrin.

"What was that about?" Meyrin asked.

"Oh, you know how Shinn and I are, sis. Making friends wherever we go." Luna sarcastically replied.

"I'll see you two later." Shinn told them as he suddenly walked off.

"Now why did Shinn leave like that?" Meyrin wondered.

Luna gave a heavy sigh. "He probably left to let off some steam. I should go pay him a visit."

* * *

><p>The evening came and Shinn had gotten into the shower. As he bathed himself, he thought back to his encounter with Jessica. Shinn had realized that he could've handled things better with her. But his rage had blinded him, though it was understandable after the comments Jessica had made about his girlfriend. Yet Shinn had to admit that he had said something stupid when he made that assumption about Jessica's need for revenge.<p>

Shinn was stirred from his thoughts when he heard the shower door open behind him. He turned around and his ruby eyes widened when he saw Luna walk into the shower completely naked. Immediately Shinn could feel his rod hardening.

"Hey there." Luna greeted in a seductive tone as she walked up to him.

"Uh, hi." Shinn managed to utter. "What, um, why…?"

"I came to see if you were feeling okay." Luna explained. "If it helps, I've gotten over what Jessica said about me."

"That's good." Shinn replied. "Right now though, I'm mad at myself for saying what I did to Jessica. You know, about why she was fighting."

"It's not like you knew." Luna pointed out.

"Yeah, but the thing is that I could've handled that a lot better." Shinn told her. "You see the thing is, I wasn't all that different from Jessica a few years ago. I was so full of anger when my family was killed in Orb that I just wanted to take it out on someone."

"Maybe you can help Jessica not make the same mistakes you did." Luna suggested.

"Like she'd talk to me." Shinn scoffed.

"You can always try." Luna pointed out. "Look let's not worry about that right now. I want to ask you something?"

"What?" Shinn replied.

"What do you really think about my skirt?" Luna asked.

"Uh… do I really need to answer that now?" Shinn replied, finding it harder to ignore his throbbing erection.

Luna chuckled. "Okay, I'll let it slide for now."

With that, the two of them became locked in an openmouthed kiss. Their tongues fought for dominance for a while before they needed to break apart for air. Afterwards, Shinn turned Luna around and pushed her against the wall of the shower. Shinn began kissing the side of the maroon-haired girl's neck.

"Oh god! Just shove it in me already!" Luna begged.

Smiling, Shinn thrust his hardened shaft into Luna's rear end, causing her to moan louder. The feeling of having the large rod inside her was simply amazing. As Shinn began to pound her from behind, his hands moved around to fondle her breasts. Eventually Shinn's right hand went down and shoved three fingers into her wet entrance. As time went on, they could both feel themselves coming close to the edge. With one last hard thrust from Shinn, they both climaxed at about the exact same time.

After a moment, Shinn withdrew himself and turned off the shower. Luna meanwhile was catching her breath.

"So… wanna take this to the bed." Shinn asked.

"Yeah… I'm game." Luna agreed.

* * *

><p>Aboard the Alliance ship known as the Dutchman, Pamela, Scott, and Jeffery all waited in the ship's briefing room. After waiting for what seemed like an hour, Captain Desoto entered the room and sat at the head of the table.<p>

"Sorry to keep you all waiting. But we've just been handed our first mission." Captain Desoto informed them.

"Finally some action!" Scott enthusiastically responded. "I was starting to get bored on this tub. Hell, this has been almost as bad as prison."

"What is our mission, sir?" Jeffery asked.

"We're to attack and destroy the Minerva." Captain Desoto revealed.

"Wait, you mean the ZAFT flag ship?" a surprised Pamela asked. "I've heard that ship is unstoppable."

"Yes, it is quite a challenge." Captain Desoto agreed. "But our superiors think that this mission will be the perfect test for you and your mobile suits. According to the latest intel, the Minerva will be meeting up with a small fleet not far from our location. We'll attack as soon as we spot it."

"So when you say to destroy this ship, you mean that we should blow the crap out of it. Right?" Scott asked.

"You are to do whatever it takes, Mr. Winslow." Captain Desoto told him as he got up from his chair. "I suggest you all get some rest before the mission." And with that the captain left the room.

"We finally get to play with the new toys." Scott said with a rather psychotic grin. "Groovy."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong> Just to let everyone know, this story is probably going to be a biweekly story for the time being. Though that may change later on. I probably will do one or two more chapters this month though since these first two chapters were just edit.

Please review and let me know what you think.


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